1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a saddle type, off-road vehicle having a relatively large storage receptacle provided thereon. More particularly, the present invention relates to a saddle type, off-road vehicle having a saddle type seat similar to a motorcycle, a pair of rear wheels and a pair of front wheels each provided with balloon type low pressure tires and supported by a vehicle frame, a relatively large storage receptacle provided at a rear portion of the vehicle, and a cover and/or load securing means associated with the storage receptacle.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
There are many known saddle type, off-road vehicles, including many three and four wheeled vehicles. These known vehicles are normally equipped with balloon type, low pressure tires for traveling through and over many different terrains. Further, these known vehicles have been primarily used for, and associated with, recreational purposes. It has been recognized, however, that these vehicles can be used for purposes other than recreation, such as for use in farm activities, ranch activities, forest activities, etc., because of their great ability to travel over many different terrains.
It is difficult to conveniently carry or transport large loads other than the rider, such as tools, camping equipment, etc., with most of the known saddle type, off-road vehicles because these vehicles are not provided with any covered or partially covered storage space.
In slight contrast to the general complete absence of storage space, two known saddle type, three-wheeled vehicles are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,562 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-128016, respectively, each of which includes a container positioned rearwardly of a rider's seat for containing loads, such as items of clothing, a lunch, small pieces of luggage, etc. The container disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,562 is rather small and, correspondingly, is capable of containing only small objects. The container disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-128016 is larger than that disclosed in the U.S. Patent, but to achieve this increased size the receptacle is positioned very closely above the vehicle's rear axle, as shown in FIG. 4 of the Publication. Such close positioning is undesirable because the container would tend to interfere with vertical bouncing movements of the rear axle if the container were supported separately from the axle, and because the container would be subjected to excessive bouncing and vibrations if it were supported together with the rear axle. Note, the Japanese Publication does not disclose how the container is actually supported on the vehicle, or how the container would cooperate with the rear axle.
Although these two known vehicles with containers are an improvement over the majority of known saddle type, off-road vehicles which have no covered storage space, they are still unsuitable for conveniently transporting relatively large and/or heavy loads, which would be desirable in many situations.
The present invention has been developed to overcome the above-discussed problems and disadvantages of known saddled type, off-road vehicles.